


sweet days of summer

by shutupimshakira (Sniperdoodle)



Series: Edeleth Week 2020 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Board Games, F/F, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fluff, Summer Vacation, Swimming, The Sandlot, i guess id still rather be on the lake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26715517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniperdoodle/pseuds/shutupimshakira
Summary: For their one year anniversary, Byleth takes Edelgard up to her family's cabin for a relaxing weekend on the lake.(For Edeleth Week Day 1: Modern AU)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Edeleth Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944229
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	sweet days of summer

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently my brain is always on lake time because I also wrote about a beach vacation for the Great Fodlan Bake-Off. Well, I guess that's just the Michigander in me. 
> 
> Also, I made a playlist for this story! It's mostly just lake-time moods, listen to is [here on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5e56079HwFNuYISPK4fNo9?si=9he63pIsQCWvE37MNNkhvw). 
> 
> You may have to look up an image of a board game I reference, Espionage. It's from 1973. I'm telling you this because I figured this fic would be really boring if I spent an entire page describing the rules and nuances of Espionage (its a fun game tho).
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

From the dirt path that leads to the cabin, they can see the lake shimmer in the evening sun through the trees. It's a sight that draws Byleth up to her family's cabin every summer. This time, she brought Edelgard with her. 

And if she's being honest, she's a bit nervous. Edelgard went all out for their six-month anniversary, taking her to a fancy restaurant and hotel. Byleth isn't sure how the old cabin will compare as a get-away for their one-year anniversary. 

Byleth glances at Edelgard as she parks the truck at the end of the path, her eyes are trained at the lake. She puts a hand on Byleth’s shoulder, "Let's get everything inside. I want to go down to the lake." 

They don't have many bags to unpack, they'll only be here for half a week. Byleth brought a cooler of food because she's sure she and her father cleared their supply out during their fishing trip last month, but otherwise it is only a suitcase and backpack for each of them. 

The cabin itself is small. There's a kitchen, a couch and tv, and a bedroom with a bed and night stand. There are not many decorations, other than a painting that has been here as long as she can remember and the obligatory "I'd rather be on the lake" sign. Byleth is thankful that she came up here last month and cleaned it up, so everything’s not covered in dust. 

Even though it's humble, Edelgard looks around the cabin approvingly, "It's cute."

"It's a bit old," Byleth says. 

"It'll be perfect for us," Edelgard insists. 

As soon as they get everything inside, Edelgard drags her out to the lake. 

Remire Lake is a quiet inland lake located near Remire Village. The beach on the Eisner property is small and is mostly taken up by the dock and fire pit. The boat she and her father use for fishing has already been brought back for the summer, but they keep a small rowboat on the property, currently laying out near the shed. 

"So, what do you think?" Byleth asks. 

Edelgard takes her hand and squeezes it, "It's lovely Byleth, I can't believe we get to spend a week out here." 

Her nerves dissipate. Byleth has to remind herself that she's just used to coming to this lake multiple times every summer, when this is a new experience for Edelgard. 

"Hey El," Byleth continues. "We could start a fire and make s'mores if you want."

Edelgard's eyes shine, "Yes, definitely."

Byleth has to pull out chairs and firewood from the shed while Edelgard runs back to the cabin to grab a lighter and s'mores stuff. A half hour later, a fire is going and they're sitting side by side roasting marshmallows. 

"I can't believe that before you took the Black Eagles on a camping trip, I have never known the absolute perfection of a s'more," Edelgard says. 

"Really?" Byleth questions. The camping trip happened over a year ago, before the two of them had begun dating. It had turned out mostly alright, other than when Caspar flung a flaming marshmallow at one of the tents on accident. 

"My family didn't go camping," Edelgard says with a sour chuckle. "We weren't really outside people before … everything happened."

In other words, before all of Edelgard's siblings died. Byleth puts an arm around her shoulders and pulls her close, "We'll have to make up for all of the s'mores you missed on this trip."

"Don't tease me about sweets like that."

"I'm not teasing," Byleth insists. She has to let go of Edelgard to make her first s'more. After it's assembled, she watches as Edelgard continues to try to get a golden roast, "Y'know, if you stick it in the fire it'll cook faster."

"That'll just set it on fire. I don't want a charcoal marshmallow."

"It tastes the same, it's just a little burnt."

"But does it really?"

"Yeah. Also El, your marshmallow is burning."

Edelgard looks at her marshmallow, turning gray in the flames. She sighs in defeat, "Can you give me chocolate and a graham cracker?"

* * *

Byleth wakes to the sound of the lake lapping at the shore. She left the windows open last to cool the house down and get rid of any mustiness. She feels Edelgards arms around her waist and head on her shoulder, clinging to her under the comforter. And when she opens her eyes, sunlight streams in through the windows, making Edelgard appear ethereal. A perfect morning. 

She doesn't want to wake Edelgard, but she starts to run her fingers through the brown tresses. As she does many times, she realizes how lucky she is to have Edelgard in her life. 

“Mhm,” Edelgard stirs from her slumber, and leans into Byleth’s touch. Her eyes flicker open, and she smiles, “Mornin’ By.”

“Good morning,” Byleth leans down and kisses her forehead. “Sleep well?”

“I always sleep well when we’re together,” Edelgard murmurs. “It’s a bit cold though.”

“Here,” Byleth is about to pull the comforter up, when she has another idea. Edelgard raises an eyebrow at the smirk that has crossed her face. She rolls over onto Edelgard before any questions can be asked, and wraps her arms around her, “Does this help?”

“No,” Edelgard says, voices muffled. “Get off me Byleth, I’m suffocating in your boobs.”

“You sure? Usually you’re eager-” Byleth tries to tease. She gets cut off when Edelgard pushes her off of her. 

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Edelgard threatens. 

“What are you going to do if I do?” Byleth checks. 

Edelgard narrows her eyes and reaches a hand behind her. Byleth doesn’t have time to move when she realizes that she’s grabbed a pillow, and she arcs it over her head to smack Byleth in the face with it. Edelgard brings the pillow to her chest afterwards, “That was a warning.”

Byleth blinks. Getting hit with a pillow didn’t hurt, but it stunned her, “Alright, that’s fair. Can we go back to cuddling?”

“As long as you don’t crush me again.”

“I’m not that heavy, El.”

“Byleth.”

“Alright, I promise.”

Edelgard discards the pillow and climbs back into Byleth’s arm. Any morning she wakes up with Edelgard in her arms is a good morning . . . even if she got a pillow to the face. 

* * *

They don’t get up until late morning. The blue sky is speckled with fluffy, white clouds and it’s not too hot. Byleth figures it’s the perfect time to fish, so Edelgard follows her out to the dock with her sketchbook.

Byleth sits on the edge of the dock, feet swinging off the edge and barely skimming the water. Edelgard is sitting behind her shoulder instead of next to her, something about getting the right angle. 

"Are you going to cook any of the fish you catch?" Edelgard asks. 

"No, I don't feel like descaling a fish. I’ll probably just throw them back," Byleth says. She looks away from her line, trying to glance at Edelgard, but she's met with a hand on her face. 

"Don't move."

Byleth ignores the command, and tries to look over her shoulder, "Are you drawing me?"

Edelgard holds her sketchbook against her chest, "Maybe."

"Can I see?"

"No, I'm not done." 

"Can I see it when you're done?"

"Maybe."

"Aw."

"I think I want to paint this one, so it won't be done until we get back home."

"But that's so long." 

“It’s art, By. You can’t rush art.”

Byleth can’t think of a good argument, so she turns back around to continue fishing. The lake is clear today, and she can see the seaweed sway underneath. No fishes, though. But, the water does give her an idea. 

“El, you should let me teach you how to swim.”

“What?”

“Let me teach you how to swim,” Byleth repeats. Edelgard had disclosed to her that she didn’t know how to swim when they went to Deirdru last year, and it had been something that Byleth had been meaning to bring up with her. She wanted to take Edelgard to a pool of some kind, but the small lake would work as well. 

“In . . . in the lake?” Edelgard checks, her voice small. 

“It’s not a big lake,” Byleth tries to reassure her. “And it doesn’t get too deep. I think it’s only like ten feet in the deepest areas.”

“By, that’s almost twice my height!” Edelgard whines. 

“But that’s only at the center of the lake!” Byleth continues. “There’s no big waves, the water tends to not get too cold during the summer, it’ll be fun!”

“I-I don’t,” Edelgard mumbles. 

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want,” Byleth reminds her. “I just wanted to give you the opportunity if you wanted it. Will you at least think about it?”

“I will.”

* * *

In the evening it rains. The only thing to do in the meanwhile is play a board game. 

In the closet Byleth manages to find a couple old games, like chess, Espionage, and Stratego. They settle on Espionage because Byleth vaguely remembers the rules.

The main goal of the game (which was clearly made during the Cold War) is to get your four spies to the landing pad at the end. However, if you land on a space with an opposing spy on it, they have to go back to the start. There were other intricacies to the game, but that was the gist. 

Edelgard got a handle on the rules quickly, and got three spies at the helicopter pad. Byleth only had two, as she made the mistake of putting one of her spies on the boat and kept getting stuck in the loop. Both of their final spies were on the other side of the map, getting close to the landing pad. 

Byleth has given up on the spy stuck on the boat, and is focusing on getting her last spy into the safe zone. She rolls the dice and begins to move him forward, but pauses at the last space: Edelgard’s red spy is waiting there. 

“Byleth,” Edelgard warns. “Don’t you dare. I’m five spaces away from the landing pad.” 

“El, where else am I supposed to go?” 

“Go into the Guard Outpost,” Edelgard points to the safe zone a few spaces back. 

“But then you’ll win.”

“Exactly.”

Byleth has found herself in a conundrum. If she doesn’t kick Edelgard back to the start, she’ll win. If she does, then she’ll win but Edelgard is competitive and will be upset. Too bad Byleth is a little bit competitive too. 

She puts her piece down and moves Edelgard’s back to Mission Control. 

“I can’t believe you did that,” Edelgard gasps. 

“I still have a guy in a boat,” Byleth tries to justify her action. 

Edelgard pouts and rolls odd, allowing her to get out of Mission Control. In a bold move, she moves her piece to a Cloak & Dagger space. 

Byleth had learned early that the Cloak & Dagger cards usually just moved you back, “You sure you want to do that?”

“I’m hoping I can get moved up,” Edelgard says. She picks up a card, sighs and closes her eyes as she sets it down, and moves her piece back to Mission Control. 

“Never trust the Cloak & Dagger cards,” Byleth advises. 

“I see,” Edelgard growls. 

With her one spy all alone and safe on the other side of the board, Byleth tries her luck at the boat again. She rolls the single red die and . . . somehow makes it past the loop, “Holy shit. I’m free of the loop.”

“Byleth, I am going to come for your ass,” Edelgard swears. 

However, Edelgard doesn’t get a chance to come for her ass. 

By the time Edelgard rolls another odd number, Byleth gets one spy out of the boat and the other one onto the helicopter. Within the next few turns, Byleth wins. 

“Good game?” Byleth asks as she spells out a codeword, winning her the game. 

Edelgard is glaring at her from across the table, but does sigh, “That was fun. We should bring this back with us.”

“So you can beat me the next time we play?” Byleth guesses. 

“ _Brutally._ ”

* * *

Byleth didn’t have many plans for this vacation other than to relax. The one thing she did plan on doing is having a picnic with Edelgard at the island in Remire Lake. 

She tries to make it a surprise. She gets up before Edelgard to make lunch (something that can be saved in the fridge for later) and collects the basket and blanket from the closet. When she leads Edelgard out to the rowboat later, she laughs and says, “This is awfully romantic, By.”

“Do you like it?” Byleth checks. 

“I love it,” Edelgard insists. She kisses her cheek, “Let’s go.”

Byleth gets in it first to help Edelgard step in. The small island isn’t too far from the shore, so her arms are only slightly tired by the time she beaches it. 

The island is about the same size as the cabin, with a decent sized shore and a couple trees and bushes at the center. Byleth lays out the blanket in the sand so the two of them can start digging in. 

“By, you really went all out,” Edelgard says as Byleth hands her a perfectly crafted sandwich. She’s already eyeing the dessert hidden in the back of the basket. 

“Well, I wanted to do something nice for you,” Byleth puts her own sandwich and sets it aside on a plate so she can pull out the strawberries. 

“You didn’t have to, this whole vacation has been perfect so far.”

“Even when I beat you in Espionage last night?”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Edelgard pouts. As Byleth laughs, she cups her cheek so she can look her in the eyes, “But asides from that, thank-you Byleth, for everything you’ve done for me. Not just this picnic or this vacation. Everything else too.”

“You don’t need to thank me, El,” Byleth insists. “I do all of this because I love you and you deserve all of this love.”

Edelgard blushes and looks away, “Sometimes, it’s still hard to believe that.”

“Then I keep on saying it until you do,” Byleth leans forward and puts a hand on Edelgard’s chin, tilting her head back towards her. Byleth kisses her, another reminder of how much she loves her. 

When they part to breath, Edelgard’s half-lidded eyes suddenly blink open wide as she points a finger, “Uhm, Byleth?”

Byleth turns around quickly, just in time to spot a raccoon snatching on half of her sandwich. It stares back at her for only a second before scurrying away with her sandwich in its mouth. She scrambles to her feet, “Hey, get back here!”

The raccoon makes a mad dash, running across the small beach. Byleth is a particularly fast runner, but the racoon evades her grasp. When they circle back to the blanket once again, Edelgard squeaks while trying to protect her food and the picnic basket, but sand gets all over the blanket as Byleth chases the raccoon across it. Finally, the raccoon jumps into the water and begins to swim away, the sandwich not only ruined but out of arm's reach. 

Defeated, Byleth watches as the raccoon’s furry little body disappears into the distance. She turns back to Edelgard, utterly confused, only to find that her girlfriend is laughing maniacally. 

“Did . . .” Byleth begins. “Did you know that raccoons could swim?”

Edelgard can only shake her head, as she’s still laughing way too hard.

Byleth stumbles back over to the blanket and flops down. Once Edelgard calms down, she hands over half of her sandwich, “Here, we can share, By.”

“Thank-you, El,” Byleth mumbles and takes a bite out of the sandwich. “I’m going to find that raccoon and teach it a lesson.”

“I’m sure you will, By.”

* * *

The rest of their picnic goes smoothly, as the raccoon did not resurface to steal more of their food. On the way back, Edelgard insisted on trying her hand at rowing and she speedily rowed them back to the mainland. 

“You should try to join the Garreg Mach rowing team, El,” Byleth says as she brings the rowboat back on land. 

“So you can drool over my biceps more?” Edelgard teases. 

“I wasn’t drooling.”

“Sure you weren’t.”

Byleth walks over and puts her arms around Edelgard’s waist, pulling her close, “I mean, it was pretty hot.”

“By the way you were staring, I could tell you thought so.”

Feeling content, Byleth hums and looks back over the water. Despite the fact that the raccoon stole her sandwich, it did remind her of one thing, “I think today would be a good day to go swimming.”

Edelgard instantly freezes in her arms. Byleth cranes her head down to kiss her forehead, “You don’t have to come unless you want to.”

“I know,” Edelgard sighs. “I’m still thinking about it.”

“And that’s okay.”

“But you can go swimming if you want. I’ll be fine with watching you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’m going to head up to the cabin and change.”

“Will you bring my sketchbook down with you?”

“Of course.”

Byleth goes to change into her swimsuit. When she returns in her bikini, it’s Edelgard’s turn to stare.

* * *

“Hey El, look at this,” Byleth runs into the living room and jumps down onto the couch, right next to where Edelgard was reading peacefully. 

“You found a VHS?” Edelgard looks at the black box in Byleth’s hand. 

“Yeah, there was a box full of them in the top shelf of the closet,” Byleth reveals. “We can actually use the TV to watch something.”

The TV in the cabin is very old. It’s one of the big boxy ones, hooked up to an antenna and a VHS player. Byleth confirmed that the TV still works, but the only thing to watch was local news. 

“It’s been years since I’ve watched anything on VHS,” Edelgard comments. She sets her book aside, “What movie is it?”

“The Sandlot,” Byleth reveals. She walks up to the TV and turns on the VHS. It whirls to life and she sticks the VHS in, “All the other ones were war movies my dad likes.”

By some miracle, the VHS works. The quality is something left to be desired, but it’s a relic of a world before DVDs and streaming. 

Byleth retreats to the couch, putting a hand around Edelgard’s shoulder as she moves closer. Edelgard admits, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this movie.”

“It’s about baseball,” Byleth explains. “And summer. I used to play baseball.”

“And then you moved onto hockey?”

“Yeah,” Byleth nods. “But I probably started playing baseball just because of the Sandlot. I did watch this movie a lot. Probably at least once every time we came up here during the summer. I think I actually memorized it at one point.”

“Do you think you still remember it?” Edelgard asks. 

“I can try,” Byleth clears her throat and picks up with the opening. “ _Thirty years later, a kid named Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez became a neighborhood legend. It was in the greatest summer of my life and he became my best friend. And he got me out of the greatest pickle I had ever been in_.”

They spend the rest of the night watching the movie and Edelgard laughing as Byleth manages to recite most of the film. Of course, during the s’mores scene Edelgard demanded that they go and make some s’mores for themselves. 

* * *

“Okay. I think I’m ready to learn how to swim.”

Edelgard has a determined look on her face, brows furrowed and lips pursed in concentration. Byleth has seen that look on her face many times before, it means that she wants to follow through on this and learn how to swim. 

Byleth had prepared a number of floatation devices-life jacket, arm floaties, inner tube-to help ease Edelgard into getting into the water. However, Edelgard refuses all of them, “If I’ve got to face my fear, I’m going to face it head on. And . . . we’re not going to go into _really_ deep water, right?”

“We’ll only go up to your waist until you want to go further out,” Byleth confirms. 

Edelgard nods in grin determination, “Then I’ll be fine.”

They stand on the shore, their feet almost touching the water. Byleth patiently waits for Edelgard to take her first step into the surf. Edelgard grabs her hand, takes a deep breath, and steps forward. 

“It’s . . . warmer than I expected,” Edelgard admits, her feet sinking into the sand. 

Byleth follows her in, walking out a bit further than Edelgard but still tethered to her by their hands, “The bigger lakes are always colder. This lake’s been baking in the sun all summer.” 

Edelgard hums thoughtfully and seems content to stay where she is. 

“Would you like to join me over here?” Byleth asks. The water only goes up to just above her ankles in this spot. 

“You won’t let go?”

“I won’t.”

“Okay,” Edelgard steels herself and shuffles forward, her grip on her hand becoming tighter with each step. She stands right by Byleth, their shoulders barely brushing.

Byleth lets her get used to this level of water before asking, “Ready to go in further?”

She doesn’t speak, just nods. Byleth takes the lead, slowly guiding Edelgard further into the water until it comes up to their waists. She doesn’t let go of Byleth’s hand, keeping a steel-tight grip on her like a lifeline.

“Are you doing alright?” Byleth checks. 

“I am, right now,” Edelgard says, biting her lip and gazing into the water below. The lake water is clear today, and they can see the weeds sway below. “So, we’re here. What’s next?”

“Well, I don’t want to do anything until you’re fully comfortable,” Byleth says. 

“So we just stand here?” Edelgard questions. 

“Yeah,” Byleth says. “The water’s nice. Unless . . .”

“Unless?” Edelgard questions. 

This is probably a bad idea, but Byleth wickedly grins and uses her free hand to skim the top of the water and splash Edelgard. 

“Byleth!” Edelgard exclaims, jumping back and promptly begins her own attack. It’s uncoordinated at first, but she quickly starts to understand how to get the biggest waves and most precise splashes. 

Byleth only lets her attack her for a moment as payback for the unexpected splash, but she returns the favor with precision attacks of her own. The two run around, splashing each other until they’re both drenched and out of breath. 

Edelgard’s laughing as Byleth tries to blow a wet strand of hair out of her face, all of her prior anxieties gone for the moment, “You look like a wet dog.”

“Maybe so,” Byleth agrees. She quickly dives under the water to push her hair back. When she surfaces, she wades over to Edelgard to take her hand again, “So, do you still feel nervous? You were playing in a lake without holding onto me.”

Her eyes go wide in realization, “I . . . was, wasn’t I?”

“Good job,” Byleth leans over and kisses her cheek. “So, do you think you’re ready to learn how to swim now?”

Edelgard nods and smiles, “I think I am.” 

* * *

The fire is nothing more than a smolder and pile of glowing embers. The last of their s’mores supplies have been consumed and the bottle of wine Byleth has been hiding is finally open. The perfect end to a perfect vacation. 

They had decided to spend their last night at the cabin before returning to the real world by star-gazing and indulging. This far from the city, the night sky sparkles with stars and constellations. It’s beautiful (but not as beautiful as Edelgard) and not complete without a little wine.

Edelgard raises her glass after Byleth fills it, “A toast to us and a wonderful year together.”

“And many more,” Byleth clinks their glasses together. “Happy anniversary, Edelgard. I love you, my heart.”

Edelgard smiles before leaning in to kiss Byleth, “And I love you, my light.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic! Leave a comment here or follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Sniperdoodle12) if you want to hear me talk about FE:3H, Hades, or the Muppets. I'm clearly a person of a wide range.


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